OzzieMonkey

I think that, if most of the game takes place after Tales, LeChuck could potentially still be a bit of goo in a jar held by the Voodoo Lady, so it could just be that there's been a period of peace for Guybrush where he hasn't faced him since that last adventure.

I mentionted this to Glokidd on his stream dissecting the trailer, that this could be the potential for a great bit that shows off the differences in how Guybrush and Elaine handle a situation, with Guybrush just running (literally) head first into danger, while Elaine takes the practical approach in her descent. Of course, it also appears that these scenes take place at different times, unless Guybrush does something at the bottom that immediately causes lava to erupt from the depths...I wouldn't put it past him.

It's times like this that I really wish I had some insight into marketing and release scheduling so I could make informed, accurate predictions. Instead, I'll just talk out of my butt. It's possible that they'll wait a certain amount of time to see how the Wishlisting is tracking, and when they have enough, BAM! Shadowdrop. Altenratively, yes, Talk Like a Pirate Day makes a lot of sense, though even that date and November seems incredibly far away given the game seems so close to completion, but again, I have no idea what the development cycle looks like. Tales Chapter 1, SMI:SE and MI2:SE have all released in July, could we be THAT close? Or maybe during Gamescom in August? Idk, so many possibilities! I really wish we ended up with a date to go along with this trailer, but them's the breaks, you can't have everything, and if they're not ready, they're not ready.

You might as well give the first 2 games another crack (or at least a polish) and just bundle all 5 in a Switch remaster. I'd love if after Return comes out (or ideally, and this is a stretch, before?) we got a nice beautiful High-def widescreen collection of the entire series. Man....that'd be nice. I'd call it The Monkey Island Years: Remastered Collection, or something like that.

Looking at the key art again, something clicked for me in regards to some discussion about whether the Secret will be revealed or not. There's been some talk about perhaps Guybrush finding out, which closes out his arc, but that we the audience aren't privy to that information. This is not dissimilar from the briefcase in Pulp Fiction, and I believe that the chest Guybrush opens (which glows) in the artwork is potentially an analog for that.

I've long hoped since Tales finished that the next game would be a big finale that had a sense of closure around the series, given the ambiguous nature of its future throughout the years. While I understood the motive behind keeping things open for the next person, I think it's best to make a satisfying ending where you're ok with it being the last in case the series remains dormant afterwards.

That'll be the new "never pay more than 20 bucks for a computer game" at the end of this one

Yep, that sums up my thoughts about that whole thing nicely. It's sad, but I refuse to let it damper my personal enjoyment of the game. Bring it on!

Or perhaps the Memoirs of Guybrush Yeetwood? ...I'll see myself out.

Crazy theory time: what if it's another Guybrush? He says "there can be only one" and just yeets him 😜

Clearly Guybrush will be investigating Republic trade routes and blockades. I move for a vote of no confidence in Chancellor Valorum...er...I mean...Herman Toothrot's leadership

I just had a terrible thought...what if this means Elaine dies?!

I wouldn't mind if people weren't so rude and dramatic about it. People saying shit like Ron's ruined his own creation and that they wish this game never happened. I don't get it, I really don't.

I purposefully went to sleep before the Direct because I figured I'd jinx it by staying up to watch it live, but then I couldn't sleep so I whipped my phone out and was so happy to see it's here! Gosh, it looks amazing! So much better in motion (though I was already on board). It really feels epic, like this is gonna be the Monkey Island games to end all Monkey Island games. I'm so glad to see that the whole "one character isn't returning" thing was a definitely a classic Ron Gilbert bit about Jojo too 😂 And what's more, it looks like we're getting even more returning characters than initially thought! Hopefully that doesn't backfire, that they're used correctly and we get equally good new characters...but in Ron and Dave I trust. Goodness, it's all too much to take in! That storybook shot at the beginning looks like it might be that recap Dave mentioned in an interview...curious that there's an image of what is unmistakably Morgan and Elaine fighting from Tales...very curious indeed. It's amazing that we've seen so much tantalizing imagery and yet still clueless: that's a good trailer! Still no date, which is disapponting but hopefully we shall know more soon. One last thing: if that's the theme, holy cow what an epic new arrangement. Ok, that's it for now, just had to get this stream of conciousness out of my system before I go back to bed. MONKEY ISLAND IS BACK BABY!

Someone did try to replicate Grog with all the deadly ingredients removed, but it ended up being just alcohol with a whole lot of pepperoni which is just...awful.

For me, it's the battery acid and red dye no.2 that really gives it the unique flavour not seen in normal Grog.

"The Foods of Monkey Island" would be the title of a new game when we've really scraped the bottom of the barrel (of monkeys) with potential options.

That's certainly a valid concern, as something I've long lamented about many modern adventure games is how overwritten the dialog can be. It often feels like the writers are too impressed with themselves and lack any sort of editing. I always appreciated how the LucasArts adventures in general were punchier. However, it's also possible that the large amount of lines has more to do with the scale of the story and where it takes us, with more interactable items and lots of locations, rather than a whole lot of overwritten dialog in smaller spaces. I certainly hope for that.

Oh yeah, the rationale for them being there totally works, it's a great idea actually! I just wonder if the balance might be off with the familiar-to-new content in one chapter. Then it becomes a dilemma of "do we get rid of Murray here" and I wouldn't swap him for them , especially with what we ended up getting. You're definitely right on the money about returning characters being better in unfamiliar territory. It's why I've always been more on board for returning characters than returning islands in this series. I just know that you can still go overboard with familiar faces; I think current Star Wars has been relying on that a little too heavily with certain projects.

That's certainly an interesting idea, though I think that ulimately it is much better to worldbuild and introduce new characters wherever possible. Like you said, Murray served the familiarity itch-scratching, but having the Men of Low Moral Fiber there too might've been a little too much. I also never found them to be that big of a highlight in the original 2 games, and the Brotherhood were actually way more engaging and funny to me. Don't get me wrong, they're still good characters, and I'd be pleased to see them in Return, but they were always kinda just there and never served any story purpose. Hell, in MI1 you don't ever have to engage them in conversation at all.

The manatee swallowing the ship was probably the best cliffhanger of Tales next to the one in Chapter 4. I remember thinking "this is what Guybrush gets for riding one on Jamabalaya Island" 😂 I get that it's maybe a bit goofy, but I actually like that. I've noticed that others have said that they prefer MI when it's more dry, but I also love it when the games committ to something truly dumb. It's why, despite the retcon, I kinda love the giant monkey robot in Escape. What's that? This isn't the unpopular opinion thread? Oops, my mistake, carry on then 😜

This really makes me wonder what they're going to do with that courthouse in Return, given that Ron has been very clear about not wanting to retread any story beats from Curse-Tales. That judge is definitely not Grindstump, he's got a very different look, and obviously it's described as "a chilly new island" so we're not revisitng Flotsam at all (and I think we've covered everything we possible could from there within Tales itself). Out of all the screenshots released, I think that's the one that has me the most intrigued, because it seems to be an entirely new place, unlike the other screenshots that are very obviously evoking the nostalgia for the old games, being that they are from familiar locations. But yeah, if Guybrush isn't on trial, I wonder why he's there in the new game. So many questions, I'm constantly channelling my inner Marius and exclaiming "I wonder what happens!'

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For sure. But did I have Macklunkey as my text alert after I saw it? You bet!

How true. Won't go into it to keep this thread on topic and avoid the rabbit hole, but suffice it to say, the time is certainly right for more MI news to take my mind off certain developments. You better deliver, Nintendo 😂 But yes, very much looking forward to Marius' video